It Happened That Night (Emison fanfiction)
by xo.mary
Summary: Emily and Alison are closer than ever, but the love they share is what makes them both the target of anonymous tormenting and deadly threats. (Emily's POV)
1. Chapter 1 - Prologue

Things spiraled out of control one night, not long after Ali's return to Rosewood. I normally would've blamed myself for what happened, but it felt right.

I was sleeping over at Alison's, she said she was feeling lonely and needed someone to be with her. I stayed. I missed Alison, and now that she was back, it felt like a dream. Sometimes I was afraid I'd wake up from it and she'll be gone again. The day before she'd told me that what we shared before wasn't one sided... That she had feelings for me too. I tried to seem calm, but my head was spinning, millions of thoughts racing through my mind. I wanted to kiss her so badly in that moment, but I reminded myself that this girl broke my heart in a way I didn't think possible, and she didn't even seem to care... At least not as much as I did.

As I was getting ready for bed, I tried my best to fight the feelings that were coming back to haunt me; I kept repeating in my head _Don't do this to yourself. _I went under the covers and turned over to Alison. I breathed in the sweet smell of her perfume and I felt a black hole opening up inside me. I tried closing my eyes, but they didn't obey me. For so long I had tried to bring her into my dreams, only to have the illusion of being close to her again. And now, she was so close to me. So I stopped thinking, and asked her if she was awake. At first she didn't answer and I felt sad, but I thought maybe it was for the better... But right as I was about to give up, she turned around and her blue eyes were looking straight into mine. My heart started beating so fast, I was afraid she could almost hear it thumping in my chest. And again, without thinking, I leaned in towards her, and I kissed her. She kissed me back. In that moment I felt so happy I could cry. We fell asleep into each other's arms and for a moment I felt that everything might be okay, that the torture I'd lived through the past couple years had come to an end.


	2. Chapter 2

The day after I stayed over at Alison's, things were looking great at school. Ali, I and the other girls all had lunch together and talked about mundane topics like food recipes and reality TV shows, and it all felt right. We had left out the topic of A for a change, and we also didn't mention the fight that Ali had gotten into with Mona the previous day. Mona had followed her to the church, where they started throwing insults at each other, until Mona lost it and mercilessly slapped Ali. According to Alison's story, she reacted to it by "walking away". But with Ali's stories you always have to watch out for twists and turns, and hidden messages, and most importantly, lies. This story was no different, as Mona had proved with a recording on her phone, showing that Alison had slapped her back without any trace of hesitation. And so the perfect day we were having was no longer perfect.

I was really upset that Ali lied about her fight with Mona. I thought she could confide in me, I felt so stupid for thinking we were completely honest with each other. But then again, Ali had never been completely honest with anybody. I got even more upset when she tried to kiss me the same day, when we were in my room. She apologized, but everything she said sounded like empty words. Eventually the breaking news about the girl in her grave came on TV and we called everyone over to my house.

Toby's house had blown up, and I felt like a traitor for only being worried about Ali's safety. I was waiting for my wake up call, but it never seemed to come.

* * *

French class started being a lot less about French and a lot more about glancing over at Alison since her return. I don't understand how she even caught up on this material. She says she learned it from her French magazines, and I wouldn't have any trouble believing her, but then I remember she was on the run for 2 years. Did she have time to read magazines and obsess over her favorite stars, but didn't save time to tell me she's really alive? This kind of thoughts stole the better part of my day, and I struggled to suppress them as soon as I felt them coming.

The bell rang announcing lunch break and both Ali and I had a free period after lunch, so we decided to go over to my house and watch a movie while feasting on food better than what the cafeteria offered. She stood up and walked over to my desk, and after I finished stuffing all my books in my backpack she grabbed my hand and led the way to the hallway.

"I'm so excited to get away from this school for a couple hours, if I spend 5 more minutes here I'll start to think I suffer from severe claustrophobia… Em, you aren't still mad at me, are you?"

I looked over at her and then glanced downwards.

"I'm not mad… I'm scared, confused… I want to be able to trust you."

"And you can. Emily, I promise all the lying and the pretending are far behind me."

"Look, Ali, I wanna believe you but you make it so hard. You've been on a roll with new lies ever since you got back, and it hasn't been that long since that happened."

Alison looked hurt, and I almost felt bad for what I said. I couldn't stand seeing Ali sad, but I wanted to make sure that what we share is real.

We walked to my house holding hands the entire way and I only pulled my hand away to check the mailbox before going inside. I opened it and there were 3 envelopes inside. I started going through them. The first was from the bank, the next some bill that had to be paid, and the third…

When I got to the third envelope, I was feeling so lightheaded and weak that I was sure I would collapse into unconsciousness.

"Em is everything alright? You don't look well" Ali said in a panicked voice.

I tried to clear my throat to make way for coherent words but I couldn't. Instead I handed the envelope to Ali and covered my mouth with my shivering hand.

"Is this… This is from my mom? It can't be. My mom's… My mom's dead."

"Ali I'm so sorry, this must be a mistake, I don't understand… It's dated after her death" I said, feeling guilty for the envelope being at my house, and then broke down into quiet sobbing.

"Open it" Ali implored and I quickly ripped the seal open.

_Look at you, my daughter's guardian angel. You're a good girl, Emily… Aren't you scared Alison is going to drag you into misery with her? Maybe you should be. Love, Jessica Dilaurentis_

I read every word out loud to Alison. Beneath the signed name, there was a drawing of a tombstone with "RIP" inscribed on it. I couldn't be sure if it referred to Jessica's grave, or to the message itself: "Alison is going to drag you into misery…" Without a word, Ali went over to the porch and sat. She rested her elbows on her legs, and covered her face with her hands. I sat next to her and ran my hand up and down her back, hoping to give her a little comfort. But comfort was an unrealistic dream for Alison, or anyone close to her, because this nightmare was never ending. There was no chance at being happy, at being safe, at being whole.


	3. Chapter 3

After the mailbox incident, Ali stayed over for about fifteen more minutes, then left and didn't show up to school for her last two classes. I tried telling her it's safer if we stick together, but she insisted she had to go; and I wanted to go with her, but she told me not to follow her. I went to my room and collapsed on my bed crying, and I couldn't stop until my chest felt like it was going to explode from the throbbing pain. Exhaustion threw me into deep slumber, and I only woke up 10 minutes before I had to be in class. I grabbed my bag, which was still on the porch where I'd left it, and jogged to school. I made it 5 minutes late, but luckily got away without detention.

When school was over, I still hadn't gotten any sign from Alison. I sent her nine texts asking if she got home safe, and to let me know where she is, and that I'm worried. On my way home I called her three times, but all I got was radio silence. I started getting nervous, and my thoughts were playing dramatic scenarios over and over in my head, so I decided I'd go to her house after dinner.

After I ate with mom, I excused myself and explained I needed to work on a project with Alison. Without a myriad of questions, my mom let me go, and I ran to Ali's so fast I started feeling nauseous. I rang her doorbell as I was catching my breath, but no one answered. I tried again, and again, and on the fifth try her dad opened the door.

"Good evening Mr. DiLaurentis. I was wondering if Alison's home?"

"Hi Emily, no she isn't, in fact she told me she was with you."

"N-no, I haven't seen her since lunch" I said stuttering, ready to break down in tears of exasperation.

Mr. DiLaurentis gave me a panicked look and I shifted my gaze towards Ali's window, because I couldn't stand not knowing where she was, and now having her father adding to my panic.

"Did you call the other girls? Maybe she went over to one of their houses?"

"I'll try calling them, I'll be right back."

"Come inside Emily, you don't have to leave."

"Thank you" I replied quickly and followed him into the living room.

I first called Aria as Mr. DiLaurentis was staring at me as if I couldn't notice him. To my despair, Aria said she hadn't seen Ali since we all gathered at the lockers at school. I tried Spencer and Hanna too, but they hadn't heard from her either.

"She's not with them…"

"I'm going to call the police."

In my state of delirium, I couldn't process if this was a good idea or not. Mr. D grabbed the phone and dialed 911. Just as he did so, my phone beeped and I pulled it out of my pocket to see it was a text from Alison: _Sorry I haven't called you back. Meet me at the church. Don't let my dad know._

"_911 what is your emergency?"_ I heard a woman's voice speaking through the phone.

"Mr. Dilaurentis, she's fine, I just contacted her!"

"Hello" he started on the phone, "My uh… My daughter was missing, but it was a false alarm. I apologize" and he hung up. "Where is she?"

"Umm she went to the Brew to grab coffee, she asked me to meet her there."

"Emily, I need to ask you something" he said, then cleared his throat and he sounded like he was getting prepared to deliver a speech. "Will you please tell me if my daughter is in trouble, or if she's going through any hardship..." his voice was hoarse and I was scared he might start crying, "I know I could've been a much better father to her, but I'm trying now, and I feel like she's pushing me away, I just don't know what to do… She's keeping her distance from me, but I want to be there for her every step of the way this time, I do, I really want to."

"I understand. She hasn't opened up that much to us either but if she lets me know of anything she's going through, I will let you know" I lied, and I felt terrible for it, but I wasn't going to throw the bomb on him about the letter from Ali's deceased mother.

I left the house and picked up my pace towards the church. When I finally got there, I rushed in not knowing what to expect. Ali was sitting on a bench, but she didn't turn towards me when I pushed the large wooden door open. I thought this to be rather strange considering there was clearly someone out there to get her, and it could be that someone in my place right then in the church.

I walked to the bench she was sitting on and when I looked at her disheveled face I had to hold back a gasp. She had trails of mascara running down her cheeks, and her face was so pale I barely recognized her. Without saying anything, I held her in a tight hug but she almost immediately pushed me away.

"Leave me alone, Emily, can't you see I'm toxic?" she said, but kept looking forward without glancing at me even once.

"Ali, where is this coming from? You can't just pretend I'm not here or that I don't care about you. Why did you call me here? Have you been drinking?" Ali's breath smelt of something strong.

"Why do you care, you shouldn't care about me, no one should care about me" her voice was bitter.

"Stop this nonsense Alison! Of course I care about you, and so do Aria, and Hanna, Spencer."

She responded with sarcastic laughter.

"Look Alison, I didn't spend 2 years crying over you only to be treated like I'm nothing now that you're back." I was getting angry.

She finally looked at me with her bloodshot eyes, and as her face softened, she forced a smile.

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry Emily, but you have to let me go. I don't belong here, okay? I never did."

"Stop it Alison! I love you, is that enough of a reason to make you stay?" And just as those words came out of my mouth, I gasped and Ali was stunned at the sound of them. I had meant to tell her I loved her for the longest time, since before she disappeared, and I played multiple scenarios in my head of how it was going to happen, but I never got the chance to do it right. And it certainly wasn't supposed to happen the way it just had.

"Um, I have to go" she said, and picked up the jacket that was folded beside her on the bench.

"Go where? Why were you at the church in the first place?"

Ali ignored my question and started walking towards the door. When she pushed it open, we were both shocked to see Mr. DiLaurentis waiting on the steps outside. He hurried towards Alison and held her face between his palms.

"What happened?"

He looked at me but I had no explanation to give him. He had followed me to the church and knew that I lied.

"Emily, I think it's time for you to go. I'll take care of Alison."

I had nothing more to say. I only had endless questions to ask. Why was Ali at the church, and why was she in the state that she was? And then I felt incredibly selfish when the next question popped into my head… _Why didn't she tell me she loves me too?_


	4. Chapter 4

Another 2 days had passed and Ali still hadn't shown up to school or tried to contact me. Needless to say, I barely got any sleep, and my dark circles were betraying my attempt to look normal to the other girls. They had their reasons to suspect me of knowing what's happening with Alison, and they were right, but I didn't slip out a single word about it. Hanna even cornered me in the girls' bathroom and told me she knows I'm hiding something and to stop putting on a brave face. Still I didn't say a single word about Alison, or the church, or the letter in my mailbox.

It was now Friday and I couldn't stand the idea of waiting around an entire weekend, only to hope that Ali would return to school on Monday. So I decided to go over to her house again, except this time showing up at the DiLaurentis' front door wasn't an option. I was probably among the last people Ali's dad wanted to see at that moment, because I'd given him a reason to lose all his trust in me.

"Em. Em. Emily!"

"Huh, sorry, what's up?"

"Since when do I have to call out your name 3 times when you're sitting right in front of me to get your attention?" Aria asked, sitting across from me in the courtyard at lunch.

"I was just thinking what I have to do after school today."

"Um, get your doctor to prescribe attention pills?"

"That's not funny, Hanna" Spencer intercepted. "What's going on Em, you've totally been spacing out lately… Since Ali hasn't been showing up to school actually. Do you know anything about that?"

"N-no, I don't, why would you ask me that, I already told you guys a thousand times. I don't know what's up with Ali or why she's been skipping school."

That was the typical conversation I would have with them. I wanted to let them know so badly, but in all honesty, I was afraid of the consequences. Whoever sent the letter to my house wasn't A, and if it was, why would it be signed "Jessica DiLaurentis"? Before solving any mysteries, however, I wanted to make sure that Ali was okay.

Around 7 I went to her house and walked into her shed, which was open, and grabbed a ladder. It wasn't a very tall or sturdy one, but good enough, I thought, to get me to Ali's bedroom. I propped it against the wall and started climbing. When I was an arm's reach away from her windowpane, I could hear a muffled voice, and I figured it was Ali talking to someone quietly. I climbed a little higher, but the words were still imperceptible and unclear. Just as I was about to go even higher, the wooden ladder creaked and I figured it must have been old and rotten from infiltrated water. The problem was, it was crumbling underneath me. My fingers were desperately clinging to the window ledge to try to lessen the weight on the ladder, but with no success. I let out an involuntary shriek and within seconds, Ali was at the window and opened it widely enough to reach out and grab my hands to pull me inside.

"What the hell?!" Ali shouted as soon as my feet were on the ground, in her room.

"Can you be a bit quieter please? I don't want your dad to know I'm here."

"He's not home. Why were you sneaking into my house?"

"I wanted to see you, I didn't know if you had run away… And your dad probably hates me, so I didn't wanna use the front door."

"If I'd run away? Pfft, I wish!"

I couldn't form any logical response, so I remained silent. The weight of her words came crashing down upon me like iron fists punching holes into my stomach. _She wished so badly that she ran away?_

"Who were you talking to on the phone?"

"Oh, just a friend."

"A friend, what _friend_? You barely just got back to Rosewood."

"Look, Emily, I get that you wanna help me and all that, but sneaking up on my phone conversations is a bit out of bounds."

"I think you owe me an explanation. Or several, actually… You not replying to any of my calls or texts, the church, the drinking."

"Seriously? You're totally freaking out for no reason right now. I'm fine! I got a little scared and downed my fears by having a few shots of tequila. Can you blame me?"

"Did you find out who that letter was from?"

"No, and I don't want to talk about it."

"Why were you at the church?"

"Because it was after hours and nobody was there, I just needed to be in a quiet place. And then I texted you, because I was drunk, and needed someone to be with me, but by the time you got there I was okay!"

"You were anything _but _okay, Alison. Anyway, so… You're not gonna try to find out who sent you the letter?"

"Probably some jealous freak trying to get me to run away from Rosewood High… I don't think this was A's work, A has finally shut their mouth, and now someone is their wannabe."

"Someone can't be A's wannabe since not that many people know about A…"

"Can you just let it go, Em? Forget about it, pretend it never happened."

I looked at her in disbelief. I didn't understand how she just wanted me to "forget about it", this wasn't a prank, it was a threat.

"Come sit with me" Ali said in a calm voice, patting the empty spot on the blanket that was covering her bed.

I was reluctant at first, but my emotions were on a dangerous rollercoaster, swinging up and down, making me dizzy. I wanted to scream at her and hug her as tightly as possible, all at the same time. She owed me a million explanations, but her letting me be near her in that moment seemed enough. I sat carefully next to her and looked into her big blue eyes. They were clear and there were no signs of her crying anytime recently. I was happy about that, and I started caressing her hand. She shifted over and adjusted her body in such a way that she was now completely facing me. She put her other hand on the side of my body, over my ribs, and slowly started inching down, until she reached underneath my tank top. The contact between her hand and my skin gave me goose bumps, and I giggled softly.

"Look, I don't want any more answers from you today, but can I stay over tonight? I need something to be able to trust you again."

"Sure you can" she said smirking, then winked. "My room can be our hideaway from my dad, I'll lock us inside so he'll never know you're here."

"Okay" I replied laughing, and wanting to taste the cherry chapstick on her lips.

She brought her hand up behind my neck and pulled me in closer to her and the next second I was kissing her. One of her hands was still playing with my hair, and her other hand was still holding mine. Then she pulled me in even more, deepening the kiss. I slid my hand down her thigh, and she reached under my top again, sending shivers up and down my spine.

And just then, in that blizzard of raw emotions and passionate kissing, I heard an intrusive noise. When I looked up, I think my heart skipped several beats. Ali's father was standing in the doorway, stunned and in awe, about to unleash a storm upon us. Or, just remain silent for an undetermined amount of time, because the shock that must have overtaken him was unimaginable.


	5. Chapter 5

Without allowing Mr. DiLaurentis enough time to say a single word, I squeezed past him through Ali's bedroom door and hurried downstairs. Behind me I could hear Ali's raised voice. "_I asked you to knock before you come in here!", "Well it's MY room", _and so on. Instead of making a sane decision for once, I let myself driven by the craziest urge of going back upstairs and listening to their conversation. My curiosity didn't give me peace, and the fear of losing Ali again was eating me up.

"_Is this why you've been distant? Oh Alison, you know I wouldn't judge you for who you choose to be with" _I heard her dad through the slightly opened door.

"_I'm not ready to talk about this, dad. Can I please be alone for a while?"_

I had my escape planned so that Ali's dad wouldn't hear me running out when he left her room. But he wasn't about to leave just yet.

"_No, I'm not going anywhere yet. I came to tell you your brother had a relapse and he's been hospitalized. They're hoping to get him out and into rehab in about a week."_

"_Dad… I'm so sorry, I didn't know. When did this happen? Can we visit him?"_

"_Yes, I was just there. They said they found him 2 nights ago in a hotel room right outside Philadelphia, his friend who was with him called an ambulance when he thought Jason had overdosed. It's strange though, his friend mentioned something about Jason wanting to do drugs to forget about something that happened to him that day."_

"_Something what?"_

Ali's voice was alarmed.

"_I don't know. He didn't say. Are you willing to come stay with me there tonight?" _

"_Yeah, of course. Why didn't you tell me as soon as you found out?"_

"_I was scared. I didn't know what might happen."_

An unsettling silence followed and I went closer to the stairs to give myself enough time to run.

"_Anyway… I'm gonna grab some food and we'll leave in about an hour."_

"_Okay dad."_

I took that as my cue to leave, and within 30 seconds I was out of the house.

* * *

Ali finally showed up to school on Monday. I hadn't tried to contact her during the weekend, and neither had she. But when she saw me in the hallway she quickly walked towards me, looking worried.

"I need to talk to you."

"What's up?"

"I can't tell you here. Meet me in the bathroom during first period?"

"Sure."

My first class happened to be History, and Ms. Hennings didn't have a problem letting her students go to the bathroom during class time. So as soon as Ali texted me to meet her, I raised my hand and I was excused.

"Hey" I started in a precautious tone, walking closer to Alison in the girls' bathroom.

"Emily, something really bad is happening," she said, her voice shaking. "Jason had a relapse and he's being stabilized in the hospital now. He was lucky to make it out alive this time, but I went over there and –– " her voice broke. A few moments later, she continued, "I went to visit him, and he was unrecognizable, and not only because of the drugs, but he looked really scared. And he told me… He confessed that on the day he went back to drugs he'd received a postcard with Mom on the front, it was an old picture of her in South America somewhere, waving her hand, and on the back it said something like '_Of the DiLaurentis', only three left. Anyone care to joing Mommy? Perhaps her favourite son, or maybe Little Ali?_' This freak is out to get my brother, too. I don't know what to do."

"Where did he get this postcard?"

"He said he found it in the backpack he carries around with him all the time. But it wasn't signed. Not A, not my mom's name. But I think this is the person who killed my mother, and they're not afraid to do something like that again."

I felt utterly speechless and terrified. However, I had to dig up the resources to help Alison.

"We'll have to tell your dad, or the girls about this. We can't get to the bottom of it without them."

"No, that's out of the question. I barely made up the courage to tell you, because the person who's sending these letters isn't joking. I'm scared for you too, Em."

"Well I don't care what this psycho has to say, we're sticking together."

She smiled at the sound of my words.

"We should probably head back to class, huh?" she asked, her voice weak.

"I guess so. Hey I haven't even asked… How are things with your dad since, you know…"

"Oh, he hasn't said much about it. I mean of course he was surprised, but he didn't mention it again."

"Okay" I replied, feeling a little better. "So if he doesn't hate me… Are you allowed to stay over tonight?"

Ali confirmed with a smile and a nod. "I'll stop by my house after school to drop off some stuff before I come over. But I'll see you at the lockers at lunch?"

"See you there" I said, and we parted ways to our respective classes.

* * *

"Do you think we'll finally get a night free from weird texts and letters?" asked Alison in an imploring voice, dropping on my bed.

"Sometimes you surprise me how lighthearted you are about the whole thing" I replied, folding clean laundry and stowing it away in drawers.

"Have you noticed though, how we dropped off A's map since these unsigned letters started pouring?"

I shrugged; it was still too early to jump to such conclusions.

"At school today Aria, Spencer and Hanna got a text from A, but nothing for us."

"It almost sounds like you're complaining" I said, "Isn't this new monster enough to handle? In fact, we don't even know if it's a _new _one, somebody enjoys playing games with us too much."

Alison sighed, and I assumed it was because she was feeling guilty for dragging me into this mess with her.

"Look, Ali, it's not your fault for all of this happening. I want to be here for you. I want to be here for Aria, Hanna and Spencer too. That's why we're friends, we stick together."

She stayed silent for a while, and then spoke in a tentative voice.

"Do you remember when we said we would go to Paris together?"

"Of course. But that was so long ago, I thought of it as more of a fantasy."

"Well it doesn't have to be. Especially now with everything happening, we could run away together. I've always planned an escape for myself, but now I realize I don't want to be alone, and the only person I want to be with is you. So what do you say? It doesn't have to be Paris. We could go on a road trip for however long we want to, and only come back when we feel like it."

"What about money? I have some saved up, but it's mostly for college…"

"Oh come on Em, relax! We won't need that much, we'll live like runaways" she explained and curved the corners of her mouth in a flirty smile.

"When would we go?" I asked, starting to consider the idea, but realizing how insanely dangerous it was.

"We should leave Friday, so that's in 3 days. Think you have enough time to pack?"

"I guess I do…"

"Come here, we need to celebrate." And she reached into her purse and pulled out two mini champagne bottles.

"To us!" she exclaimed and we clinked bottles.

"To us" I repeated, and felt my heart beating wildly in my chest.


	6. Chapter 6

On Friday I was feeling overwhelmed by the excitement and spontaneity of our trip and the frenzied packing I had done after school. Alison was coming to pick me up at 6 pm and I still had an hour and a half to get ready. I decided to change in more appropriate clothing for an adventurous runaway, but I realized I had no idea what kind of attire was expected for that. In the end I decided on a pair of high-waisted denim shorts and a simple white Tee, and I tied a black and red printed flannel around my waist. As I was brushing my hair for the tenth time, I could hear my mom coming up the stairs. I quickly put the brush on my desk so my excessive preparation for the trip wouldn't look suspicious. She leaned against the doorframe and looked at me smiling.

"It's so nice of Spencer to have you girls over at her lake house. Is Alison coming too?"

"Yeah" I said, trying to cut the conversation short.

"It's been so long since you all went there last, before Alison disappeared. It will be good for you to get away from the chaos of Rosewood for a weekend" she continued, seeming genuinely happy for me.

"I know."

"Okay, I'll let you get ready" my mom concluded, then left my room.

I felt incredibly guilty for lying to my mom that I was going to Spencer's cabin, especially because I didn't have the slightest clue of where we were really going.

It was now almost 6 and I was out of my house five minutes early as Ali instructed. She said I couldn't be even a second late, but I didn't understand why, we didn't have any fixed plans. A few moments later I saw her silver car pulling into my driveway. I waved goodbye to my mom, who then came to the porch to hug me and tell me to have fun and be safe. I told her I would, and then ran to Ali's car with the bag I had packed. I threw it on the backseat then went inside and hugged Ali.

"Are you ready?" she asked smiling coyly.

"Where are we going?" I smiled back.

"You'll see."

She turned on the radio, which was set on a top hits station, then backed out of my driveway.

"Are we going to be driving for a long time?" I was hoping to at least get a hint.

"You're so impatient, aren't you?"

"A little. I told my mom we're going to Spencer's lake house, so we should be back before Monday, I was thinking Sunday night?"

"Stop getting so ahead of yourself!" She said trying to be reassuring, but I sensed nervousness.

I decided to let her drive without distractions, so I rested my head against the window and looked outside, listening to the music. About half an hour later, we were getting close to Philadelphia.

"Are we going into town?"

She shook her head no, then I realized she was taking an exit off the highway where a sign indicated a hospital nearby. I was confused more than anything, and I started wondering if we were going to visit Jason. I avoided asking any questions, but I was getting increasingly worried. After a few more minutes we were taking a shortcut through the hospital's parking lot, and Ali turned her car into a narrow street behind the building. There were bushes and shrubs on each side of the street, and Ali was sitting up in her seat, peeking carefully on either side as she was driving the car extremely slow.

"Can you please let me know what's going on?"

But before she could give me an answer, I saw a manly figure dressed in black jumping out from one of the taller bushes.

"Ali, _drive_!"

"Lower your voice!" she commanded, and as I looked at the person approaching us more closely, I realized it was Jason.

He opened the door in the back, which was already unlocked, then as soon as he violently shut it behind him, Ali pushed the gas pedal.

"I'm going to jump out of this car if someone doesn't tell me what's going on right now" I demanded.

"Jason can't go to rehab, he needs to come with us, and we're helping him run."

"But I thought this was our road trip –" I said, then quickly stopped myself, realizing I must have sounded rude since Jason was with us in the car. "Sorry, Jason."

"It's alright, nice to see you Emily."

"Nice to see you too" I replied, unconvinced.

"I hope you don't mind Em, but he doesn't have anywhere to go. We're going to a motel halfway between Philly and New York City."

I sighed, and I was losing patience. I thought I would have a say in our little "adventure", but Alison had already assumed the leader role. I mostly just wanted to go back home and wash away the feeling of guilt from lying to my mom. I grabbed Ali's phone from the center console to browse her playlists, since the music on the radio was getting on my nerves. She hadn't noticed I took it, but she usually didn't object to me using her phone. However, as soon as she happened to glance over and saw it in my hands, she almost lost control of the wheel.

"Put that down, Emily!" she raised her voice, and tried clutching the phone.

"Why, what's there to hide?" I answered stubbornly.

I typed in her password, which she had told me a few days earlier, and as soon as the home screen disappeared, her messages showed up, displaying one from A at the very top: _You made the right decision, doing what I said. Have the best of trips! Kisses, A._

"Ali, what the hell is this?"

She pulled over on a back alley; we were now a good few blocks away from the hospital. She took a deep breath, then parted her lips slightly in an attempt to say something but nothing came out.

"Is this really the road trip we talked about, or one of A's ambushes?"

"I couldn't tell you anything, or A would've killed both of us! I don't know what's going to happen, I have no idea, okay?" she was becoming hysterical. "I got an unsigned text on Monday, saying to take you and Jason to this place, otherwise we'd all wind up dead. Then this morning I got another text, revealing that the person who sent the letters to Jason and I, was A, the same A who has been torturing us for years. I freaked out and I was angry, so I deleted it. And right as I pulled into your driveway, I got this text."

"And when were you planning on telling me this?!" I asked, feeling my temperature rise alongside with my anger. "When we get to the freaking hotel, right into A's hands?"

"Emily, listen to me, if we don't go A will go as far as killing us. We _have _to go."

"I'm not going anywhere, I'm taking a bus back home."

But when I tried opening the door, it was locked.

"LET ME OUT!" I demanded, but instead she put the car back in drive, and left the alleyway.

I started screaming even louder, hoping she would eventually get tired, or that she would feel bad for me, but she continued driving. When I looked over at Jason, he was staring out the window, a resigned expression on his face. I was crying and flailing my hands frantically to make her stop, but I could only keep it up for so long before I fell back into my seat. I couldn't believe Alison had betrayed me like this, and I didn't care if she thought it was for the better. Because it wasn't, I couldn't believe that it was.


	7. Chapter 7

After one more hour of driving, we were on a deserted road in the middle of a cornfield. I had rested my head against the window for the entire ride because I couldn't stand to see Alison. I hadn't looked at her even when she called my name and wrapped her hand tightly around my arm. I was running my fingers over the screen of my phone, contemplating whether or not to message one of the other girls, but I quickly knocked those thoughts because I didn't want to get them in the same mess that Alison had gotten me into.

"I guess we're here," Alison announced faintly.

We were parked in front of a dilapidated building that looked like it was built in the 1800s. For the first time in an hour I looked at Alison, but I wasn't happy to do so.

"This is where we're staying? How did your GPS even find this location?"

"Emily, please, can you be a little more supportive?" she asked imploringly, and then did the one thing people weren't used to see Alison doing. She started sobbing and begging me to be on her side. But I had always been on her side, I just wasn't sure if she was still on mine. At that point Jason got out of the car, and started walking around the small parking lot. As the good friend that I always had been, and the girl who inexplicably still had feelings for Alison, I hugged her tightly and stroked her hair, while repeating that we will help each other through this and that everything will be fine. However, I hadn't the faintest idea if there was even a chance we would be fine. She eventually pulled away from my arms and looked at my mouth. In one quick motion, she locked her lips onto mine, but I gently pushed her away.

"Jason doesn't know" I whispered, then continued, "… does he?"

"No, but I don't care."

"Well I do. We need to keep our heads clear; we can't act anything but friendly around anyone in this hotel. Or whatever this creepy place is."

Jason knocked on Alison's window, and we took that as our cue to get out as well. He took his bag from the back seat and threw it over his shoulder, and just as I was about to grab mine he also reached for it, and our hands synchronized in the most awkward of ways so that they touched, his hand over mine. I quickly retreated my hand, and looked up at him shyly. When I did so, I was surprised to see that he was smiling at me, or half smiling, because the right corner of his mouth was turned up.

"I can get that", I said quickly, in an attempt to interrupt the staring contest.

"You sure? Here, I'll get it." And without leaving me any time for a reaction, he took my bag and threw it over his other shoulder.

I looked in Ali's direction to see if she had witnessed my conversation with Jason. But she hadn't; she was fumbling with some papers in the car's glove compartment. Then she closed it, stood up straight and walked to the car's trunk, where I assumed she put her bag. A moment later, she opened it, and 2 pink bags of medium size were revealed. She grabbed one of them, then yelled over at Jason, who was heading for the reception area.

"Can I please get some help with this?"

He didn't reply.

"Here, I'll get it, I don't have anything to carry."

An old gray-haired woman checked us into 2 separate rooms: one for Jason, and one for Alison and me. We walked up old wooden stairs that sounded hollow, and arrived at our adjacent rooms.

"I'll see you girls later" Jason said, and I grabbed my bag from him without looking at his face, scared that he might surprise me with another mysterious smile.

"Stay close" Ali told him, "We'll all be sleeping in the same room tonight."

I turned over to Alison. "Why do we all need to sleep in the same room?"

"We're taking turns at sleeping. Someone has to be watching at all times, just in case A decides to show up", she said matter-of-factly as she turned the key into the lock of our room. When she pushed the door open, the first thing I noticed was the king-sized bed that took up almost the entire space. Beside it there was an old looking desk and on it an even older looking lamp. I walked inside and threw my bag on the bed, which instantly squeaked as if I had thrown the heaviest weight on it.

"Don't make yourself too comfortable…" Ali said sarcastically.

"So how long do you think we'll be here for?" I asked, hearing desperation in my voice.

"Probably until tomorrow morning. If A wanted to give us another stupid message, there is plenty of time in one night."

I attempted to check my phone, but there was no reception.

"A can't even text us here. I've lost all reception", I explained.

"I wouldn't be too worried about A. He, she, it, is probably in this same hotel spying on us."

"That's a comforting thought."

Later when we started getting hungry, Ali grabbed my hand and we went out on the hallway and she knocked violently on Jason's door. A minute later, he showed up with a towel wrapped around his waist, water dripping from his hair. His gaze shifted to our hands, at which point I felt obliged to retrieve my hand from Ali's grasp.

"I'll be out in 5 minutes, we can drove someplace nearby", he said, then looked at me and held the stare for longer than I was comfortable with.

"Fine", Ali scoffed, and we went back into our room.

"If I didn't know you weren't into boys, I'd almost feel jealous for my brother checking you out like that."

She'd noticed too.

"He's probably just had a long day", I tried giving an explanation that I myself didn't believe.

"Come on Em, you're hot, of course he's starin' at you."

My mind lingered on the word _hot_ for a few seconds. It was a good feeling to know Alison thought that about me, but in the given circumstances I couldn't afford to spend too much time thinking about it. 5 minutes later, as promised, Jason showed up at our door.

"Ready?"

We all went back in the car, Jason in the driver's seat this time, Ali next to him and I in the back. He pulled onto the lonely narrow road and started driving in the opposite direction from where we arrived. Ali told her brother something about the road reminding her of the one to an old family friend's house. But before he could reply, he looked in the rearview mirror and yelled out _SHIT _at the top of his lungs. Instinctively we turned around to see what he saw, and I instantly wished I hadn't. A black car was following us, driven by a masked person in a black hoodie. A was following us.


End file.
